I headed out Sunday with all of our seniors for our Fall Retreat up at Sharp Top Cove. The seniors are here all week. The Upper School is here Monday-Wednesday and Middle School from Wednesday-Friday. Click the link below to read updates about camp and to check out our pictures.
I love music. That is one of the main ways that God speaks to my heart. These past few weeks, I have been listening to the new album by the band Rush of Fools. I love their song “Undo”. There is a lot of truth in the words of the song. What a great song about the journey of redemption.
RUSH OF FOOLS
Undo
I’ve been here before, now here I am again
Standing at the door, praying You’ll let me back in
To label me a prodigal would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be
[Chorus]
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You�re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become
I focused on the score, but I could never win
Trying to ignore, a life of hiding my sin
To label me a hypocrite would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be
[Chorus]
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You�re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become
Make every step lead me back to
The sovereign way that You
[Chorus]
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You�re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become
4 Years Today! Wow…time really does fly when you are having fun. Clint and I got married at 2pm on Saturday, August 23rd in Acworth, GA. If you live down here, you might remember it also as…The Hottest Day Ever! We had a great time. It was amazing to look out into the congregation and see so many people that have been a part of our lives for so long.
I know that I definitely overmarried. Clint is more than anything I could have ever thought to pray for. He is the godliest man and most wonderful husband around. I am the type of person who likes to go all the time. He is more laid back and has helped me learn that I need to relax more.
Clint treats me like a princess and at the same time, still loves to throw the football with me in the yard.
Babe…how about 90 more? Happy Anniversary!!
Can you hear it? The Tranformation…it’s COMING!!!
New Testament Survey-Fall 2007
Megan Strange
23 Aug 2007
Matthew Lesson 3: Matthew 11-13
Major Theme of this passage: Facing Opposition
3 Questions to ask of any Bible Passage:
1. What does it say?
2. What does it mean?
3. What does it mean for me? (practical application)
Miracles found in these chapters (2)
1. Man’s withered hand healed (12:10)
2. Healing of blind and dumb demoniac (12:22)
Parables found in these chapters (7)
1. Parable of the four soils
2. Parable of the weeds
3. Parable of the mustard seed
4. Parable of the yeast
5. Parable of the hidden treasure
6. Parable of the pearl merchant
7. Parable of the fishing net
Matthew 11-13
The kingdom collides with the enemy
What the kingdom of heaven is like:
-kingdom can be rejected or accepted
-produces lots of fruit (righteousness)
-people in the kingdom might look like people out of the kingdom
-here now somewhat: its fullness is yet to come
-may be small/hidden; but has great power
-kingdom worth more than everything we have
-kingdom will have future judgement
The Narrative (11:2-12:50)
11:2-19 -roles of Jesus and John the Baptist in the stream of redemptive history
-Jesus teaches about the kingdom
-Jesus eases John’s doubt
-are you the one? Or should we be looking for someone else?
11:20-30 -rest for your soul
-what does it mean to be weary?
-provided in the “yoke” of the Son of God
12:1-14 -conflict about the Sabbath
-“one greater than the temple”
-“mercy not sacrifice” Hosea 6:6
-healing of the man’s withered hand
12:15-21 -Jesus as the meek and suffering servant
-he didn’t want healing to disrupt his teaching ministry
-Isaiah 42:1-4
12:22-45 -confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees
-trying to discredit Jesus
-if you are not actively following Christ, you have rejected Him
-religious leaders asked Jesus for a miracle
12:46-50 -confrontation between Jesus and his family
-spiritual relationships/physical relationships
-need for community
Reversal of Expectations/Series of Parables (13:1-53)
13:1-23 -parable of the four soils
-“parable” compares something familiar to something unfamiliar
-compels listeners to discover truth
-parables have one meaning unless otherwise specified by Jesus
-Jesus tells the parable/explains the parable
-written to encourage “sowing”
-four types of soil represent different responses to God’s message
1. hardened
2. shallow
3. contaminated by distractive worries
4. receptive
13:24-30 -parable of the weeds
-weeds (unbelievers) and wheat (believers) must live side by side
-can’t distinguish until mature
-harvest is coming
13:31-32 -parable of the mustard seed
-smallest seed a farmer used
-kingdom had small beginnings but will grow and produce great results
13:33-35 -parable of the yeast
-yeast is a symbol of evil or uncleanness
-here it is used as a positive symbol of growth
-yeast permeates bread/kingdom permeates the world
13:36-43 -Jesus explains the parable of the weeds
-true believers/false believers
-Christ makes the final separation
-Daniel 12:3
13:44-46 -parable of hidden treasure
-parable of the pearl merchant
-kingdom is more valuable than anything we have
-how earnestly are we searching?
13:47-52 -parable of the fishing net
-related to the culture of the day
-obey God and tell others of his grace and goodness
-sorting that will occur at the final judgement
-kingdom-now/judgement-future
13:53-58 -people of Nazareth refused to believe
-a prophet without honor
-too close to the situation
-Jeremiah also rejected (12:5-6)
Review
Matthew 1-4 Presentation of the King
Matthew 5-7 Description of those in the kingdom
Matthew 8-10 The kingdom extended under Jesus’ authority
Matthew 11-13 Rising opposition against the kingdom
Homework
Read and Journal Matthew 14-18
New Testament Survey-Fall 2007
Megan Strange
21 Aug 2007
Matthew Lesson 2: Matthew 8-10
Major Theme of this passage: Faith
3 Questions to ask of any Bible Passage:
1. What does it say?
2. What does it mean?
3. What does it mean for me? (practical application)
Miracles found in these chapters (10) c.f. Isaiah 53:4
1. Jesus heals a man with leprosy (8:1-4)
2. Jesus heals the centurion’s servant (8:5-13)
3. Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and others (8:14-17)
4. Jesus calms the storm (8:23-27)
5. Jesus drove out the demons (8:28-34)
6. Jesus heals the paralyzed man (9:1-8)
7. Jesus heals a bleeding woman (9:20-22)
8. Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead (9:23-26)
9. Jesus heals the blind man (9:27-31)
10. Jesus heals the mute man (9:32-33)
Matthew 8-10
The kingdom extended under Jesus’ authority
The Narrative (8:1-10:4)
8:1-4 Jesus heals a man with leprosy
-Don’t tell anyone
-Go to the priest to be declared clean
8:5-13 A Roman centurion demonstrates his faith
-Romans looked down on Jews
-Centurion rewarded for his faith
8:18-22 The cost of following Christ
-What does it cost?
-What are you willing to pay?
-“My sin will take me further than I want to go, keep me longer
than I want to stay, and cost me more than I want to pay.”
-Discipleship is an investment
8:23-27 Jesus calms the storm
-storms of nature
-storms of the troubled heart
9:1-8 Jesus heals a paralyzed man
-spiritual sickness more pressing than physical sickness
-Blaspheme: claiming to be God and applying his characteristics to yourself
9:9-13 The calling of Matthew
-Matthew was a tax collector
-his gift of organization and record-keeping was used to journal the ministry of Christ
-leaving his job as a tax collector left him unemployed, he had no backup plan
-2 changes for Matthew 1. New life 2. New purpose
-Jesus’ insistence on eating with public sinners
9:14-17 New wineskins
-Jesus didn’t come to patch up the old religious system of Judaism
-New message: Jesus came to earth to offer all people forgiveness and reconciliation with God
-dawning kingdom, manifest in the presence of Jesus, is a reason to rejoice
9:18-34 Healing
-bleeding woman “untouchables”
-Jairus’ daughter “making the impossible possible”
-Jesus told them to keep quiet about the healing because he didn’t want to just be labled a “miracle worker”. He was focused on spiritual healing as a person’s #1 need.
9:35-38 Pray for workers
-v 37-38 “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
10:1-4 Commissioning the Twelve
-gave them authority
-Disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas
-disciples were from all walks of life-fishermen, political activists, tax collectors, rich and poor, educated and uneducated
-God uses ordinary people to do his extraordinary work
The Second Discourse on Mission and Martyrdom (10:5-11:1)
10:5—16 Immediate project
-go to the lost
-live among them
-sheep among wolves
10:17-25 Prepare for Persecution
-Warnings of future sufferings
-Who will oppose us?
* Government (18-19)
* Religious People (17)
* Family (21)
10:26-31 Fear in light of the Father’s providence
-v. 32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before me, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
-To take our cross and follow Jesus means to be willing to publicly identify with him, to experience almost certain opposition, and to be committed to face even suffering and death for his sake.
-v. 42 How much we love Christ is demonstrated in the way we love and treat others.
Review
Matthew 1-4 Presentation of the King
Matthew 5-7 Description of those in the kingdom
Matthew 8-10 The kingdom extended under Jesus’ authority
Homework
Read and Journal Matthew 11-13
This year I have the privilege of teaching a Bible class at school. I am teaching New Testament Survey to 18 9th graders. We are off to a great start. Most of our crew has a pretty good foundation of Bible knowledge. My desire this semester is to help them cultivate a desire to study the Bible and to find out more about what it means to become more like Christ. The first class period we spent some time getting to know each other and talking about the course. The second class period, each student was responsible for giving a brief summary of 2 Old Testament books. Tomorrow we will jump into the New Testament talking about Matthew 1-7. The students are required to read the text before class and journal. Their journal is supposed to be written from the perspective of “The 13th Disciple”. I’m curious to see what direction they have gone with that.
Today after school I spent some time at the pool rereading Matthew 1-7 and reviewing my seminary notebooks. It is fun to reread the book and find new things. I have put together my notes for class tomorrow and am going to paste them below. I am looking forward to hearing what all the students have pulled from this passage.
New Testament Survey-Fall 2007
Megan Strange
17 Aug 2007
Matthew Lesson 1: Matthew 1-7
OT Review
-God’s chosen people, the Jews in Israel, rejected Him
-Prophets promised that a Messiah was coming to deliver the people
-Matthew links the OT to the NT
-41 times Matthew refers to the OT
-37 times preceded with “that it might be fulfilled”
Matthew Facts
-Many scholars say that it was written prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. They point to the strong theme of evangelism to support that claim.
-Matthew was the 2nd largest of the gospels
-Matthew shared more teaching about the kingdom than the other gospels
-Matthew uses “Emmanuel” as a title of Christ that no one else uses
-Focus of Matthew was 1. Jesus as fulfillment of the promise-evangelistic
2. Discipleship/Edification
-For 400 years, nothing new was added to the Bible. Empires and people groups rose and fell and Israel was dominated by Greece and Rome.
-Matthew opens a whole new section of the Bible-The New Testament
-Matthew narrates the story of Jesus’ life on Earth.
-He quotes the OT more frequently than any other author.
-Matthew 1. Author of the first gospel
2. Left his work as a tax collector to follow Jesus
3. also called Levi
3 Questions to ask of any Bible Passage:
1. What does it say?
2. What does it mean?
3. What does it mean for me? (practical application)
Matthew 1-7
The prologue (Matthew 1:1-2:23)
Genealogy of Jesus, his birth, the visit of the Magi, the escape to Egypt, the massacre at Bethlehem, and the return to Nazareth.
The gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 3:1-7:29)
The narrative, ministry of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus, Jesus’ early Galilean ministry, the first discourse (Sermon on the Mount), the kingdom of heaven, the Law and the Prophets, demand for perfection, warnings against hypocrisy, traditional manifestations of Jewish piety, two ways, two trees, two claims, and two builders.
1:1-18 Genealogy of Jesus shows Jewish ancestry and fulfillment of promise to David (2 Samuel 7:12-13)
1:18-2:23 Joseph’s reaction v. Herod’s
immediate obedience v fearful, selfish obedience
1:21 “savior from sin” Jesus/Joshua “The Lord saves”
2:15-23 Jesus left Egypt and then returns to Nazareth
3 John the Baptist’s message
-repent for the kingdom is near
-produce fruit befitting repentance (live the life)
Baptism of Jesus
4 The temptation of Jesus
What is the longest you have gone without eating?
-Deut 8:3
-Psalm 91:11-12
-Deut 6:16
-Deut 6:13
Why does it matter that Jesus was tempted?
-Hebrews 4:14-16
Calling of the first disciples
-Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John
v. 20-“at once” v. 22 “immediately”
5:1-16 The Beatitudes (How a Christian Shall Live)
5:17-48 Law…what does it mean?
OT Law v NT Law
old covenant v new covenant
5:20 We will never be righteous enough/we can’t do it right
children of God our Father
6:1-18 Audience of One
future reward v present reward
condemns hypocrisy
6:9-13 The Lord’s Prayer
6:24 Two masters
6:19-34 heavenly treasure v earthly treasure/don’t worry
6:33 Seek first
7:1-12 Don’t judge/ask, seek, knock
7:12 Golden rule
7:13-27 Christianity is hard (counter cultural)
be aware of false teachers
Christians should bear fruit by nature because…
1. We are children of God
2. Righteous in our heart
Review
Matthew 1-4 Presentation of the King
Matthew 5-7 Description of those in the kingdom
Homework
Read and Journal Matthew 8-10
Most of our friends tease us because we are never home. Clint and I seem to be out doing something or hanging out somewhere every night. It is the reason that our houseplants are always on the verge of death and why we wouldn’t even consider owning a pet. We have only been home 2 weekends since before Memorial Day Weekend. I’m not bragging, unfortunately, that is really how crazy our life usually is. It is all a matter of choice. We enjoy seeing our friends, we enjoy eating out, and we both like to always have something to do. We just aren’t wired to sit at home. Neither of us is really interested in television or gardening or anything that really requires you to be at home.
However, in the midst of our busyness we have come to really cherish the time that we can be at home with nothing going on. We are so ready to be home that we are reclaiming our calendars. I am going to be out of town Saturday for a rafting trip with school. Clint has school all day Saturday and Sunday. Next weekend will be tied up with last minute retreat preparations. Some of our best friends have invited us to go out of town Labor Day Weekend. At first we were pretty excited about heading out again. However, we have decided to throw on the brakes and stay home for the weekend.
Sunday night I got in early evening from a great weekend in Nashville and Clint got back from Summerville. We ended up going for a walk and then piddling around the house. Yesterday I came home around 4:30 (a record for getting home from school) and we headed up to the pool for about an hour. Then, we cooked dinner together, and finished up the night playing tennis together for about an hour once the sun went down. Tonight we ate at Moe’s after a volleyball game at school. We came home and did a few things and then headed out for an hour on a walk.
I am excited about the pace of this school year and the fact that we are getting into a healthier routine right off the bat. I cherish the time that Clint and I spend walking, biking, playing cards, or just sitting and talking. Next week we will celebrate our fourth anniversary. I am glad that we are finally starting to make good choices about how we spend our time.
I am the worst one about taking a break and slowing down. I just thought it might be a good idea to blog about this so I can be held accountable.
I am looking forward to our walk tomorrow night!
Titus 1:5-9
5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Today was the first day of the 0708 school year at North Cobb Christian School. I’m going to have to say…it went well! We had a great day. It was great to see all the teachers and other staff last week as we met and did some planning together. It all came together today as the first students started showing up. What a great opportunity to see why we do what we do. God was all over our campus today.
It was interesting to see how our students have changed over the summer. Some of them have changed physically, but what was most exciting to see was that most of them have matured socially and spiritually. I had a lot of great conversations with folks today. I am really looking forward to a great year.
Today was also my first real day as a classroom teacher. I have 18 freshmen in my New Testament Survey class. We had a good time. I am really going to enjoy this class. These are the students that were 7th graders when I started at NCCS. I have enjoyed watching them grow up.
We also have a ton of new students this year which will be great. It is always nice to have some new dynamics in the family. Many of the new students are already getting connected and seem to fit in really well.
In my quiet time this morning, I read the first chapter of Titus. It was a good time for me to hear from God reaffirming my commitment to NCCS for this year. We still have work to do and we still have a message to spread. I look forward to this year and all of the great opportunities headed our way as a school. May will be here before we know it…we have a lot to do!
I’m hanging out in Nashville this weekend. My mom and sister came up for a wedding and some shopping. I came into town last night and surprised them. We had fun catching up last night at the hotel. We spent a long time today shopping and even hit the local Starbuck’s. The headed out for the wedding a couple of hours ago and I have just been hanging out by myself. I went for a long walk around downtown Nashville. There is a ton going on tonight. Tonight is the first preseason game for the Titans. They are playing the Redskins and are winning 3-0 early in the second half. I’ve also been doing some reading and just relaxing. It is the first time I’ve been by myself in a while and it’s been a little different!
Tomorrow morning Mom and Katie are headed back to Memphis early. I am headed up to Mt. Juliet to hang out with some friends and will get back to Acworth late afternoon. Clint is in Summerville all weekend visiting folks and playing in a softball tournament. I can’t wait to see him tomorrow night! We’ve been married almost 4 years and I never get tired of seeing his handsome face!
